


Something More

by stealingpotatoes



Series: Swans and Crows [2]
Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Fluff, but having no idea they’re actually together for a long while, finished quickly bc i need my no. of wips to go down lmao, there’s something i really like about emily being THE biggest corvojess shipper
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:15:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26066365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stealingpotatoes/pseuds/stealingpotatoes
Summary: Emily accidentally finds out that Corvo is her father.
Relationships: Corvo Attano & Emily Kaldwin, Corvo Attano/Jessamine Kaldwin, Emily Kaldwin & Jessamine Kaldwin
Series: Swans and Crows [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1796710
Comments: 6
Kudos: 56





	Something More

**Author's Note:**

> This is partly based off Emily’s line _“I remember sneaking out of my room, listening to my mother play for my father.”_ (I think you get it on the harp in the Grand Palace).  
> Obligatory warning that I have the proof-reading (and, arguably, _writing_ ) skills of a recently microwaved chicken, so mistakes are on me.

Emily wasn’t  _ meant _ to sneak out of her room after she was put to bed, but she had decided that if she wasn’t  _ really _ meant to sneak out, it wouldn’t have been so easy to do so. She was fairly sure the guards just ignored her, but she preferred to think that she was actually successfully skulking past them and her governesses, the same way Corvo could sneak around silently. She knew she wasn’t quite as stealthy as Corvo -- which Emily didn’t get at all; she was eight and much smaller than him, while he was a lot older than eight and about a  _ million _ feet tall. But still she’d made it all the way to just outside her mother’s chambers with little to no problem. However, now there was an  _ obstacle;  _ two obstacles, really. The two guards posted outside the door. 

Emily peered at them from behind a pillar. She could try to sneak past them, or just convince them to let her in. The first one was more fun, but the second was easier… She’d do the second one.

Emily breathed in and tried her best to copy the way her mother acted when she was being all Empress-y. She turned from the pillar and walked up to the guards. “I need to see my mother,” Emily said, hoping she sounded commanding. 

“The Empress said she wanted to be left alone-” one guard started.

“Her Majesty meant by her advisors, not her daughter,” the other guard interrupted, speaking quietly to his partner. The guard turned to Emily and started speaking at a normal volume, “Of course, Your Highness.”

He opened the door, and Emily gingerly walked through it. The guard closed the door behind her.  _ Mission: accomplished _ , Emily thought with a smirk _. _

Emily wasn’t sneaking here for a bad reason. She just wanted to listen to her mother play the harp for Corvo, as her mother often did in the evening. 

Emily frowned. Usually by this point, she’d be able to hear some light music. It occurred to her that maybe her mother just wasn’t playing tonight (it wasn’t like she played the harp  _ every  _ night) and that she should just go back to bed, but Emily decided to move towards the inner drawing room anyway. She padded through the outer room, where her mother often received very boring guests that Emily had to smile and be polite to, and definitely not tell them how boring they were. Right now, the room was empty of people bar her, and Emily thought it was much nicer this way. 

Emily reached the door, but still couldn’t hear anything. She put her ear up to it; still no harp. But she could hear muffled talking-sounds… they  _ were _ in there. She looked through the keyhole. 

The harp was there, but her mother wasn’t sitting by it. Emily glanced to where Corvo usually sat to listen. Corvo was there… with Mother sitting on his lap, her arms draped around his shoulders and with her back against Corvo’s arm on the armrest of the sofa they were on. Mother’s hair was down, and Corvo wasn’t wearing his coat, making them both look uncharacteristically casual. 

Emily furrowed her brow. Why was Mother sitting on Corvo when there was a  _ whole sofa _ next to him?  Emily shrugged, still looking through the keyhole.

Corvo and Mother’s faces were fairly close, and were talking too quietly for Emily to hear. But they were definitely talking. Corvo said something funny, probably, and Mother laughed. 

They both paused, and Corvo moved his hand to the side of Mother’s face, brushing a lock of stray hair aside and resting his thumb on her cheek. 

Emily held her breath in anticipation behind the door.  _ Come on, come on.  _

After a few seconds of silently smiling at each other, Corvo and Mother both leaned to bridge the gap between their lips and started  _ kissing _ . 

Emily put her hand over her mouth to cover her gasp. She pulled away from the keyhole and tried to comprehend what she’d just seen. Corvo and her mother were  _ kissing _ . Actually kissing! Emily jumped up and down on the spot in celebration. They had finally done it! 

_ “Yes, yes, yes!” _ Emily half-whispered, still doing her small celebration dance. She threw her hands in the air. 

The door suddenly opened behind Emily, she stopped and spun around to see Corvo stood in the doorway. At first, he was almost scowling, but his face quickly softened up to a smile when he looked down to see Emily. 

Emily grinned. “You kissed mother!” she said, not giving Corvo the chance to speak. 

Corvo furrowed his brow, “What?” 

Emily walked past Corvo and accusatorily pointed between him and Mother, who was standing next to the sofa, “I saw you! You just kissed each other! I was looking through the keyhole and you two were kissing! On the lips!”

Corvo muttered that one Serkonan word he usually said when things went wrong (but that Emily  _ wasn’t _ allowed to say) and glanced back at Mother, who looked equally as surprised as him. Corvo shut the door behind him. 

“Uhh…” Corvo trailed off. 

“She’s old enough to know,” Mother tilted her head slightly, looking at Corvo. 

“And to keep it quiet,” Corvo conceded. 

“And I don’t think  _ not _ telling her is an option now…” Mother said, sounding almost amused. 

“Why are you talking like I’m not here? I can hear you,” Emily said impatiently.

Corvo and Mother stopped talking and both looked at Emily with a smile.

“Are you going to kiss again?” Emily asked. “And you can’t tell me you didn’t kiss, because I know I saw it.”

Her mother and Corvo shared another glance, slightly more sure this time. Mother looked back to Emily, “We did kiss.”

“So…” Emily gestured between her mother and Corvo, “you’re together now!”

Corvo nodded.

“Yes, Corvo and I are together,” Mother smiled.

A grin spread across Emily’s face and she squealed, bouncing on her toes in excitement, “FINALLY! I’ve been telling you to get together for years!” Emily paused and gasped dramatically, “When are you going to get married?”

Corvo and Mother gave each other an amused look, and Emily felt like she was missing something.

“We’ve been together for a while, actually,” Corvo glanced back down to Emily.

Emily’s excitement dropped into tentative curiousness, “...how long then?” 

“Twelve years,” Corvo said, with a smirk.

“ _ Twelve years?!”  _ Emily half-yelled. “You’ve been kissing for twelve years and you never told me?!” she asked offendedly. 

“We wanted to, but-” Mother started. 

“Wait!” Emily interrupted, looking pensive, “If you’re…and you’ve been...” Suddenly, she gasped even more dramatically than before and looked up at Corvo, “Does that mean you’re my father?!”

Corvo’s smirk spread into a big smile, “It does.”

Emily squealed and grinned. “This is the best day ever!” she yelled, before she threw herself at Corvo (or more aptly, Corvo’s legs) and hugged him as tightly as she could. Corvo hugged her back. 

“I’m so happy you’re my father! I was worried it would be some boring person, but you’re not boring! You’re the coolest person ever!” Emily said very quickly, still hugging Corvo tightly, “This is the best!”

Corvo gave a low chuckle, “Thank you.”

After a few moments, Emily pulled back and glanced between her mother and Corvo- no, glanced between her  _ parents _ with a frown, “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Her mother’s smile became a little smaller, “Because it has to be a secret.”

Emily furrowed her brow more, “That’s silly. Why does it have to be a secret?”

“It’s… very complicated,” Mother stated, without the usual sureness in her voice. 

Corvo crouched down to Emily’s height, “But because it’s a secret, you can’t tell anyone. At all.”

“Not even Mrs. Pilsen?” Emily asked, thinking of her favourite doll lying in her bed. 

“Not even Mrs. Pilsen,” Mother repeated seriously, moving closer to Corvo and Emily. 

Emily nodded solemnly and looked down. She  _ wanted  _ to tell everyone that Corvo was her father, and that he and her mother had been kissing for twelve whole years… but if they said it had to be a secret, it had to be a secret. Emily looked at Corvo, still crouched next to her, “I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

Corvo smiled and stood back up to his full height.

“Can I call you father?” Emily asked, perking up. 

Corvo and Mother looked at each other. Emily had decided long ago that her mother and Corvo could definitely read each other’s minds, because they seemed to be able to talk with just eye contact. They were probably doing that now. 

“It’s probably best if you don’t-” Corvo started, with a sort of apologetic frown to Emily.

“Okay, father,” she said before Corvo could continue, staring up at him with an incredibly smug grin. 

Corvo narrowed his eyes and gave Emily another smile, though he looked like he was trying not to do so. Mother was also smiling a little. 

“What? I think I deserve to say it  _ once _ . Because you lied to me for twelve years,” Emily said, trying to put on the cutest face she could in an attempt to convince her parents. 

“ _ Twelve _ years?” Mother asked amusedly, “You’re only eight, my dear.”

Emily made a dismissive motion, making her mother and Corvo both laugh a little.

“She makes a fair argument,” Corvo huffed, folding his arms with a little shrug. 

Emily grinned again and looked Corvo in the eyes, “Father, father, father, father, father!” 

“Oh, now you’re pushing it. Come here,” Corvo grinned, reaching for Emily. 

Emily giggled and started to run off, but was almost immediately caught by Corvo. He picked her up and sat her on his arm. Emily giggled again. Corvo smiled back, adjusting Emily a little. 

Emily looked at her mother and made a grabby hands motion with the hand she wasn’t holding on to Corvo with, “Family hug!” she demanded, with giddy excitement. 

Mother obliged with a smile and moved forward to wrap her arms around Corvo and Emily. Corvo and Emily hugged her back with their free arms. Emily was, admittedly being a little squished by her parents, but she didn’t care. 

“I love you both,” Mother said into the hug.

“I love you too,” Corvo and Emily said in unison. 

**Author's Note:**

> As much as I really like the idea of Corvo telling Emily he’s her dad after DH1, I like the ‘Emily makes it so Corvo & Jess _have_ to tell her’ headcanon more. I just do.  
> Anyway, thank you very much for reading! I have a [tumblr](https://stealingpotatoes.tumblr.com/) where I post my art and writing jazz, if you ever want to drop by! :3


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